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Trump to welcome Macron for first state visit on April 23

French President Emmanuel Macron will make his state visit to the United States on April 23-25, his office announced, the first by a foreign leader since Donald Trump assumed the presidency last year.

Trump to welcome Macron for first state visit on April 23
AFP

“This invitation reflects the long-standing historical friendship and alliance between our countries, and the strength of relations between the two presidents,” Macron's office said late Monday.

Trump extended the invitation in January after he was hosted by Macron in July for the Bastille Day national holiday — when the US leader was impressed by the huge traditional military parade on the Champs-Elysees.

This month the White House said Trump is seeking a similar military parade, an unconventional move that would showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief.

Although Trump and Macron have professed good relations and met several times, they disagree on a range of fundamental issues, not least Trump's
decision to pull the US out of the 2015 Paris agreement on fighting climate change.

The programme for Macron's visit has not yet been finalised, but will include a joint press conference and a state dinner, his office said.

Diplomatic sources said Macron may also use the occasion to visit New Orleans, which this year celebrates its 300th anniversary since its founding by the French in 1718.

AMBASSADOR

Trump’s ambassador to Denmark leaves country as president’s term ends

After three years as United States Ambassador to Denmark, Carla Sands has stepped down from the post and left Copenhagen.

Trump’s ambassador to Denmark leaves country as president’s term ends
Outgoing United States Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The now-former ambassador confirmed she had taken leave of the Danish capital via Twitter.

US president Donald Trump’s term ends on Wednesday, with President-elect Joe Biden to be inaugurated at 6pm Danish time.

“It's been a privilege serving the Trump Administration for over 3 years as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. I’ve enjoyed promoting USA-Denmark-Faroe Islands-Greenland relations,” Sands tweeted.

“I have departed Copenhagen,” she added in a follow-up tweet.

In a video included in the tweets, Sands mentions her highlights of her time as ambassador. These include the re-opening of the US consulate in Greenland capital Nuuk alongside US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Sands, who took over as ambassador in 2017 after being appointed by Trump, is likely to be remembered as the incumbent at the time of Trump’s overtures towards purchasing Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Danish kingdom.

After Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed Trump’s suggestion that the United States could buy the Arctic territory from Denmark, the US president promptly cancelled an official visit to Denmark scheduled for September 2019.

Sands met with the Danish government on several occasions in an attempt to take the heat out of a potential diplomatic dispute.

READ ALSO: Danes pour scorn on Trump after state visit postponement

More recently, Sands was criticised for tweeting an incorrect claim that her own vote had not been counted in the country's general election.

The ambassador posted on her personal Twitter account a screenshot which she claimed showed her absentee ballot in the state of Pennsylvania had not been registered. She also made several other posts on the site following the US election in support of Trump's baseless claims of election fraud.

Several other Twitter users – as well as the New York Times – looked up Sands' vote on the Pennsylvania state government website and found it was in fact registered.

READ ALSO: US ambassador to Denmark makes incorrect Twitter claim about own vote

After a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC on January 6th, Sands was officially contacted by foreign minister Jeppe Kofod. The minister called for Trump to concede defeat in the election and ensure a peaceful transition of power.

Newspaper Berlingske reported that this was the first time in history that a Danish foreign minister had officially protested over internal affairs in the United States.

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